How To Make Elephant Toothpaste

This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

By now you’ve probably gathered that we are official homeschoolers!

I know, I know, I can hardly believe it too. It took mountains of research and a giant leap of faith to arrive at this decision, but after much thought and even more prayer, we’ve arrived, and we are excited for the coming year!

For Jemma’s kindergarten curriculum I feel pretty confident in what we’ll be learning – hands-on awesomeness, unit studies, all the basics of reading and math, and, of course, field trips galore! I’m darn near giddy to introduce her to the world of geography and even though it is summer we’ve launched into a bit of literature with reading J. M. Barrie’s classic novel, Peter Pan. Everything is falling in to line. Well, everything but science. Science just isn’t my forte. It never has been. So, what to do, what to do?

One of my main goals with homeschooling is to avoid pressing preconceived ideas and preferences on to my kids. Including my own. If Jemma falls in love with science I want to provide every opportunity and experience for her to thrive in that subject, because who knows, science may be a part of her future career! It was for my 2 sisters …

And yes, that is where the light bulb moment happens. Just call me Thomas Edison :) Just because I’m not a science guru doesn’t mean I don’t have the resources to collaborate with someone who is.

Enter —- Aunt Kiki, my sister, Miss Frizzle, science teacher wonder.

She is the answer to my only homeschooling hardship. Talk about a miracle!

Thanks to Aunt Kiki, Jem and I are kicking science off strong with a super fun science experiment. You guys, we even have a video to show it all in action!

Join us for an awesome experiment called Elephant Toothpaste that will prompt conversations about following directions, exothermic reactions, volume, and more!

We shopped for experiment essentials at Costco and gathered some ingredients and supplies from around the house too. Here is everything you’ll need to make Elephant Toothpaste:

• 1 empty and clean 20 ounce soda bottle
• 1 empty tub or box
• Safety goggles
• 1/2 cup of 6% hydrogen peroxide
• 3 tablespoons cup Dawn Platinum Advanced Power dish soap
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 10 drops of food coloring
• Optional but encouraged, because experiments can be MESSY: Bounty Advanced paper towels and Mr Clean Magic Eraser

Best of all, none of these supplies are experiment specific. When you’re through with your lesson you can use all of these things for other purposes, especially the P&G Household Needs products from Costco – those are so versatile and part of our daily life in so many ways! 

Total side note, but, did you know that a squirt of Dawn Platinum Advanced dish soap on an oil-based or food type clothing stain will help get it right out? Best stain remover I’ve used lately!

Now, back to experiment specifics. Once your experiment supplies are all in one place, here is what you’ll do to make the Elephant Toothpaste magic happen:

DIRECTIONS

• Into your empty soda bottle add food coloring and dish soap. Swirl to combine. 
• In a separate small mixing bowl, stir the warm water and yeast for 20-30 seconds.
• Place your soda bottle in a large plastic box or on a baking tray of sorts. Have paper towels close at hand … the mess and excitement is about to begin!
• Carefully pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle and prepare yourself for ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE!

Take note, the details matter when you’re planning an experiment. This could be rule number one in science land. Follow directions. Follow them carefully. If you don’t use the correct ingredients, you won’t get the desired result. Even more, when you’re a mom and you hear “science experiment”, details matter big time on the clean up front. Don’t be unprepared or leave a mess behind when you can use quality P&G products from Costco like Bounty Advanced paper towels (super absorbent and durable!) and Mr Clean Magic Eraser (truly magical!) to clean things up right from the start!